Tag / Tom Ricketts

by admin

The Stars Will Shine At Wrigley In 2027

In a ceremony at Wrigley Field yesterday morning, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the Cubs would host the 2027 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, July 13.  Wrigley will become the third stadium to host four All-Star games, having previously hosted in 1947, 1962, and 1990.  “This is an honor for our team, our city and our state,” said Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts. “We can’t wait to showcase how we have preserved this iconic ballpark. Wrigley Field means so much to Cubs fans and millions of people who have visited what we believe is a baseball cathedral and one of Illinois’ top tourist destinations.

The very first All-Star Game was held in Chicago at Comiskey Park in 1933, as was the 50th anniversary game in 1983.  With just six years separating 2027 and 2033, it would be surprising, but not unprecedented, for Chicago to get the 100th anniversary game.

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Grievence Denied

After nearly 5 years, an arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Cubs in the grievance filed by the MLBPA on behalf of Kris Bryant.  The grievance, filed in May of 2015, alleged that the Cubs manipulated Bryant’s service time in an effort to keep an extra year of team control before Bryant was eligible for free agency.  The hearing took place this past October, once it became obvious that Bryant and the Cubs would not be coming to an agreement on a long term contract that would make the grievance moot.

Bryant split the 2014 season between Double A Tennessee and Triple A Iowa.  Despite hitting .325 with a combined 43 home runs and 110 RBIs between the two levels, he did not get a September call-up by the Cubs.  Determined to break camp with the big league team the next spring, Bryant slashed .425/.477/1.175 with nine home runs in 40 at-bats in the Cactus League.  However, that was not good enough to supplant Mike Olt, and Bryant was returned to Triple A to, allegedly, work on his defense.  When Olt injured his wrist on April 11, the Cubs waited until April 17 to put him on the DL and recall Bryant, the very day they gained an extra year of control.  Bryant went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, hitting .275 with 26 home runs and 99 RBIs while Olt, after finishing the year with the White Sox, never played in the major leagues again after the 2015 season.

So, the Cubs retain control over Bryant for an additional two years.  Whether he steps foot on the field again as a member of the team is still up in the air.  With the Cubs too close to the luxury tax threshold for Tom Ricketts’ comfort, Bryant has been rumored to be on the trading block all winter, with the result of his grievance, and the length of time before he becomes a free agent, seen as being the holdup in closing a deal.  While trading Bryant may be the best way to replenish a farm system left bare by 5 years of contention, while also lowering the team’s overall payroll commitments, doing so does not signal an intention to try and win in 2020, while the remainder of the team’s core moves closer to free agency themselves.

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Winter Wonderland

12-DecWe finish off the year with 2 shots of Michael from 2 different baseball games in 2 different stadiums.  On the left, he is posing with the retro racers of Paul Konerko and Joe Crede on the concourse at US Cellular Field early in the 2015 season.  On the right, he is showing off the baseball he got from Tom Ricketts at Wrigley Field during the 2015 post-season.

by jim

Ricketts Says F U

BartmanGameYesterday, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts gave a giant middle finger to the rooftop owners that he feels are holding up the renovations of Wrigley Field by announcing a new plan that greatly increases the amount of outfield signage.  The revised plan includes a slight reduction of the JumboTron in left field, a video board in right field, four LED advertising boards, additional outfield lighting, expanded bleacher seating and “open spaces”, expanded home and visitor clubhouses, and moving the bullpens from the field to under the bleachers.

It seems that Ricketts has decided that the time for negotiating with the rooftop owners is over.  The renovations were originally scheduled to begin this past offseason, but the threats of lawsuits from the rooftop owners put the kibosh on those plans.  These revised plans, aside from putting the screws to the rooftop owners, seems to hinge on a loophole in the revenue-sharing contract that the rooftops have been using to keep the Cubs at bay.  That agreement states that “any expansion of Wrigley Field approved by governmental authorities shall not be a violation of this agreement.”  By tying the new signage to a bleacher expansion, the hope is that the Cubs can violate the spirit of their contract while staying within the letter of the law.

Lawsuits seem to be a foregone conclusion at this point.  The Cubs claim they cannot afford to put a competitive product on the field and pay for the renovations without the additional income streams the new signage will provide.  The rooftop owners claim they have a right to unobstructed views of the Cubs product, thanks to that contract signed in January of 2004 by the team’s former owners.  At the end of the day, it seems the big winners will be the lawyers.

by jim

Rebuilding Wrigley

CTH Proposed renovations to Wrigley FieldThe big news coming out of last weekend’s Cubs Convention was the latest plan to renovate Wrigley Field.  Chairman Tom Ricketts said that the team would fund the renovations, expected to be around $300 million, without public assistance in exchange for the city lifting some of the restrictions related to the stadium’s landmark designation.  The renovations, expected to start following the 2014 season and continue over the next 5 offseasons, includes larger concourses, additional restaurants, more bathroom and concession areas, expanded suites, a new roof, and new seats.  Also included are new amenities for the players, including a larger home clubhouse, batting cages and additional training facilities.  From the outside, the façade would be returned to its 1930s-era luster.

Wrigley Field, built in 1914 for the Chicago Whales of the old Federal League, has been the home of the Cubs since 1916.  It is the second oldest park still in use, behind Boston’s Fenway Park.  The Cubs have been looking to renovate the stadium for years, but have been stymied by, among other things, the landmark status, the desire for public funds, and the bankruptcy of their former owner, the Tribune Company.  The renovations are badly needed if the stadium is to continue to be used as anything beyond a museum.  The players facilities are antiquated compared to the rest of the league, making it all the more difficult to attract top-flight free agents.  The seating bowl has had its own issues, starting with the multiple incidents of falling concrete in 2004 that led to netting being installed throughout much of the upper deck.

These planned renovations are still nearly 2 years away and the Cubs have had numerous plans go by the wayside in the past few years.  Unfortunately, time is probably running out on the viability of Wrigley Field as a long-term alternative if nothing is done.  Hopefully this plan does go through and Wrigley Field continues to be the home of the Cubs for years to come.